


The Bento Box Bunch

by dumbwitchhours



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Akiteru WILL adopt all of the now-second-year crows fight him about it, Akiteru is a good big brother, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hinata Shouyou is a Good Friend, Light Angst, No Beta we die like the witches they could burn, Protective Tsukishima Kei, Protective Yamaguchi Tadashi, Second Year Tsukishima Kei, Second Year Yachi Hitoka, Second Year Yamaguchi Tadashi, Yachi Hitoka is a Good Friend
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:08:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28485126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dumbwitchhours/pseuds/dumbwitchhours
Summary: "Yamaguchi broke the silence. “Hey Tsukki, how much do you want to bet that Kageyama makes another first year cry today?”Before Tsukishima could answer, Hitoka found a small snort of laughter bursting out of her.They both looked at her, startled and pleased.“Yachi-san,” Tsukishima hummed, faux-scandalized. But she had heard him bicker with the rest of the team enough to hear and see the delight that colored it.She sighed, giving in. “Well, It’s just that he’s so earnest. He really does want to be a good senpai,” she justified, frowning in an effort to hold in the laugh that really wanted to burst out of her.“...but…” Yamaguchi prompted.“Well,” she glanced around, like Kageyama would appear from the shadows under a desk to catch her. “I don’t like to talk badly about people.” "---The First Years become Second Years and with that... maybe more mature. Or maybe not, but at least better friends.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou & Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shouyou & Kageyama Tobio & Tsukishima Kei & Yachi Hitoka & Yamaguchi Tadashi, Kageyama Tobio & Yachi Hitoka, Tsukishima Kei & Yachi Hitoka, Yachi Hitoka & Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 14
Kudos: 83





	1. Hitoka is Confused, and the Boys are making a Yacchan-Defense-Squad

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Uh, thanks for tuning in. I am attempting to write a multi-chapter thing here, but in a way that hopefully each chapter sort of stands on its own in a way? But also hopefully they will build on each other. 
> 
> Anyways I just have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this awkward group of kids becoming second years and trying to be better players and good senpais and somehow finding lots of great friendship along the way. 
> 
> There will be different perspectives for the next chapters, but this one is all darling, nervous, lonely Yachi Hitoka and her budding friendship with Yamaguchi and Tsukki. 
> 
> So Hinata, And Kageyama, and Tanaka, And Noya, and alllll the other Karasuno fam will be making appearances, and probably other people as well! Because who knows where this journey is gonna go, I just want some solid coming of age and friendship content and have decided that I will just make it! 
> 
> Uh, I should state that I don't intend to put in any romance? You're of course welcome to read into whatever you would like, but the text is going to be all platonic. I'll change tags if that changes? 
> 
> Ok, I'm rambling. I haven't written in a long time, really, so please be kind. This is also unedited because I don't have patience so please ignore any errors, one day maybe I'll try to tidy it up.

Yachi Hitoka was aware that she wasn’t the best in social situations. She had always strived to excellence in everything that she did, but honestly a lot of social situations were very overwhelming. When she was studying, or in class, it was easy to focus on the lessons. There was a clear directive -- but once she was interacting with her peers, well…

When she was young, in elementary school, it had been so much easier. But at some point everyone around her had begun to grow and grow and suddenly she was always the smallest person around. And because she was small, and quiet it was often hard to get a word in edgewise with anyone, and she ended up drifting off a lot and thinking about other things instead of focusing on the conversation.

Like, when Kageyama and Hinata wanted to stay behind and practice, and they needed someone to help out (well, don’t  _ need,  _ but it would be nice), and it’s not like there’s anyone waiting for her back home, so sometimes she stayed behind with them and they talk about a lot of very loud volleyball things and she just hums and nods along, but she’s never really sure what they’ve said at the end of it all. 

Like, right now. 

Oops. 

Yachi smiled nervously at the boy from Class 3, who had come up to her as she was leaving the class to get a drink from the vending machine to go with her bento. He was still talking, telling her about how he… saw a movie? She thinks? He wasn’t making much sense, but Yachi was having a hard time understanding him over the buzz of anxiety anyways. 

Was he angry with her? Did she do something? Had she met him before? She thought she had seen him before, but just in the hallway. 

He was still talking. He seemed very energetic, and his gesturing was starting to get a bit startling. 

She continued smiling politely as he talked, but glanced around to see if there was a way out of this conversation that she  _ did not want to have.  _

She really, really hated talking to new people. 

Just as she could feel the pressure in her chest building, an arm gently pressed against hers. Hitoka jumped, but as soon as she saw the soft freckled face of Yamaguchi the overwhelming pressure settled. 

As she looked back to see what that boy wanted, she realized he was stuttering out some kind of goodbye and stumbling away. 

She was so confused. 

“What a pest,” hummed the deceivingly gentle voice of Tsukishima from above her. 

Hitoka smiled at both boys. “Tsukishima-kun! Yamaguchi-kun! Can I help you with something?”

Yamaguchi squeezed her arm gently and stepped away, smiling gently. “Oh no Yachi-san,” he assured her, “Unless you would like to have lunch together?”

Smile brightening, Hitoka nodded her head sharply. “Thank you! Yes that would be very nice! Is it ok if I just go get my food? I’m so sorry! I left it in my class! Oh -- do you want to eat in there? I should have thought -- oh no, how rude--”

“Yachi-san,” Yamaguchi interrupted, stifling a laugh, “It’s alright. We have our food with us, so we can come with you to eat in your classroom if that is alright?”

Hitoka nodded, biting her lip to hold in more nervous babble as she turned on her heel to lead the two boys back to her classroom. 

When they entered, the other kids who were eating at their clusters of desks looked up and stared. Hitoka wasn’t sure if it was because they so rarely saw her with anyone else, or if it was because she seemed to have found two of the tallest boys in the school to have lunch with her. Either way, she flushed and stared forcefully at the ground as she navigated to her desk. 

Yamaguchi and Tskukishima, seemingly unaffected by the staring, settled into chairs around her desk just like Hinata and Kageyama had started doing around exam season. They both took out their lunches and that seemed to break whatever moment was happening, and all the staring subsided. 

Hitoka pulled out her own bento, smiling at both boys. 

After a moment of quiet eating, Yamaguchi broke the silence. “Hey Tsukki, how much do you want to bet that Kageyama makes another first year cry today?” 

Before Tsukishima could answer, Hitoka found a small snort of laughter bursting out of her. 

They both looked at her, startled and pleased.

She covered her mouth, swallowing down anymore laughter. But the boys didn’t relent. 

“Yachi-san,” Tsukishima hummed, faux-scandalized. But she had heard him bicker with the rest of the team enough to hear and see the delight that colored it. 

She sighed, giving in. “Well, It’s just that he’s so earnest. He really does want to be a good senpai,” she justified, frowning in an effort to hold in the laugh that really wanted to burst out of her. 

“...but…” Yamaguchi prompted. 

“Well,” she glanced around, like Kageyama would appear from the shadows under a desk to catch her. “I don’t like to talk badly about people.”

Tsukishima waved his hand dismissively, “I mean it’s just the truth. And does it count as people if he’s just got a basket of volleyballs for a brain?”

“A basket? That’s generous,” Yamaguchi muttered. 

They both flinched a little at the stern glare Hitoka sent them, bolstered by her determination to defend the well-meaning (and, yeah, a little dense) setter. “Well. He  _ does  _ mean well. But every time he tries to help…”

“He scares the shit out of them instead,” Tsukishima finished, “Because King is hopelessly socially inept.”

Hitoka shrugged, “Yeah. But we can’t tell him  _ not  _ to help them…”

Huffing, Tskukishima waved his hand again and went back to eating. “Enough about King. I have to see him at practice, I don’t want to spend my free time thinking about that idiot.”

Yamaguchi rolled his eyes while Tsukishima wasn’t looking. 

They ate in silence for another moment. Tsukishima finished first, folding and putting everything away. As he busied his hands, he spoke again. “Yachi-san, does that happen often?”

Confused, Hitoka shook her head, “Does what happen often?”

Tsukishima sat back up, folding his hands delicately on the table. “With that boy, earlier. Do things like that happen often?”

Realizing that she must be being called out on her total social failure and the fact that the boys had to come save her from her own anxious thoughts, Hitoka turned bright red and stared fiercely down. She couldn’t think of any words to explain herself. 

“Yachi-san?” Yamaguchi prompted gently. After a moment, he gently placed a hand on her arm. She turned even more red, if that was possible. She must have been blushing from her head to toes by now. 

“I-I---” she stuttered out. Then she stood aggressively and dropped into a bow, “I’m so sorry if I inconvenienced you! I am so embarrassed!”

Yamaguchi pulled her up, gripping her firmly but still gently by the arms. “Yachi-san, we don’t mind at all. We only want to make sure people aren’t making you uncomfortable.”

“Oh,” she said. “Ah, well, I’m still so embarrassed. I never know what to say, is the thing, and I just get so overwhelmed, and --” she stopped herself, realizing she was nervously rambling again. She smiled at Yamaguchi and Tsukishima, feeling grateful that they would be so worried about her silly social incompetence. “Anyways, thank you both. It has been very nice having lunch together!”

Releasing her arms with a soft squeeze, Yamaguchi sat back down and Hitoka followed suit. 

Meeting her eyes, Tsukishima nodded sharply. “You don’t need to worry about this anymore.”

Unsure as to what he was planning to do about her brain refusing to operate when meeting new people, Hitoka just smiled and nodded gratefully at him. It was about the thought, right?

The rest of lunch was filled with meaningless chatter and Hitoka found herself startled when the boys had to rush back to their class to avoid being late to the next lessons. 

She carried a bit of a smile into the rest of the day’s classes.

\---

“This is absolutely NOT alright,” Yamaguchi hissed to Tsukishima as they hustled back to their classrooms after lunch. “Yachi-san is being  _ preyed  _ on.  _ Harassed.” _

Tsukishima shot him a sharp glare, “I  _ know.  _ We’ll come up with a plan. Now go to class.”

Frowning and casting a glance back towards Yachi’s classroom, Yamaguchi finally nodded tersely and ducked into his classroom. 

No one was going to harass  _ their  _ manager. 

\---

Hitoka was glad to finish classes -- she was looking forward to practice today. Coach Ukai had asked her to continue the record keeping that Shimizu-senpai had done, and she didn’t want to disappoint him in the first real task he had asked her to complete since the new year started. 

She had been attentive in learning from Shimizu-senpai, but it was still nerve racking to be on her own. 

But it had been two weeks, and she finally felt more comfortable in her role, and today she may have gotten a bit distracted during her Japanese lesson (she already understood what was being taught, it was alright. The textbook would fill in gaps for one fuzzy lesson). She had an idea for a new chart for her book, a better way to log all of the information, and she couldn’t wait to practice with it. 

As she gathered her bag and hustled to the exit of the classroom, she was met once again with the sight of Yamaguchi and Tsukishima. 

“Ah!” she squeaked, “Yamaguchi-kun Tsukishima-kun! Did you leave something here during lunch?” Suddenly worried, she turned to head back to her desk to check -- she hadn’t seen anything earlier, but she hadn’t been looking --

“Yachi-san,” Yamaguchi caught her before she could go anywhere, “We just thought it would be nice if we all walked together to practice. Our classrooms aren’t far.” 

Nodding and willing her face not to blush -- why was she always blushing, it was so embarrassing -- Hitoka smiled at them. “That’s very kind of you! I think it would be very nice.”

They set out towards the locker rooms, parting ways between the women’s and men’s. 

As she changed, Hitoka considered the bizarre turn that her day had taken. Why had Yamaguchi and Tsukishima suddenly decided to spend so much time with her? Not that she was complaining -- since high school started, she had felt so overwhelmed by the new environment, and all the new people who all seemed to have friends so quickly. 

She was never good with making real friends. It felt nice to have people choosing to spend their free time with her. 

Smiling to herself, she locked up her belongings and practically skipped to open the door. It swung open, and she nearly smacked into Yamaguchi’s back. 

“Yachi-san!” he grinned, starting to head down to the gym as if this was normal for them. 

Confused but not bothered, Hitoka caught up with him. 

They had already caught up and chatted quite a bit that day -- certainly more than they ever had before -- so the silence they walked in was comfortable. 

Right before they entered the gym, Yamaguchi stopped her. “Can I talk to you for just a moment, Yachi-san?”

Unsettled, Hitoka nodded. She could feel that pressure building again. Had she done something wrong? Was that why they had spent so much time with her today? What has she done?

“I just wanted to make sure that you are alright,” Yamaguchi continued, “Or, um, this is so awkward I’m sorry. But I guess the point is I just want to make sure no one is making you uncomfortable? You don’t have to put up with them if they are -- um, you’re one of us. So even if it’s not me. Like, whoever makes you feel safe. If it’s Tsukki or Ennoshita just -- you can tell us, if someone is bothering you. We can help you.”

Now even more confused, Hitoka nodded sharply to Yamaguchi’s intense expression. “That-- that’s very sweet, Yamaguchi-san! Very good to know, if, you know, someone bothers me.” 

She seemed to have said the right thing this time, because Yamaguchi nodded seriously, patted her on the shoulders, and turned to enter the gym. 

Hitoka stood, a little baffled but still charmed. These volleyball boys were all so strange, but they meant well. 

\---

That evening was a bit chilly, and Hitoka took pleasure in curling up under as many blankets as she could dig out of the closets. Her mom was out of town, so the apartment felt sprawling and empty. 

Like this, curled up tight, she felt incredibly small. 

Briefly, she wished her mom had been home to talk about her day. It had been so eventful, and she had felt so full and happy even though it had been a little odd. But she had come home, and remembered that her mom wouldn’t be back for two more nights. 

Which really wasn’t that long, so she was being silly getting so upset over one evening on her own. 

Honestly, she was 16 years old. She should be old enough to not  _ cry _ over one evening alone. 

And she had done great through dinner, which she ate while she puzzled over her homework. Once she had finished, she cleaned any trace of her evening, neatly put together her bag for the evening.

But now, ready to sleep and thinking back on her day, her mind caught on how earnest Yamaguchi had been. And of course, no one was bothering her -- most people didn’t even notice her, honestly. But it felt wonderful to know that he would go out of his way to defend her. 

And, well, the warmth of that regard, and the excitement of practice that followed, made her so extremely glad she had followed Shimizu-senpai. And she wished she could tell her mom about it, and about her new ideas for a fundraiser for new uniforms, but their phone call tonight had been brief and perfunctory. 

But she was 16 years old, and she had  _ friends _ , and she could handle a couple more nights alone. She was being silly. 

Taking a deep breath, Hitoka stretched out all of her limbs, before curling up comfortably once again. She was only going to think about what a nice day she had. The things to be grateful for! 

Earnestly, to herself and quietly, Hitoka hoped that Tsukishima and Yamaguchi would join her for lunch again tomorrow. 

\---

Yamaguchi was not at lunch, and Hitoka was doing her best not to overthink it. 

Tsukishima she wasn’t concerned about -- he had texted her that he would miss their now-daily lunch because he had to do some last minute work on a group project. 

However, she had heard nothing from Yamaguchi indicating that he wouldn’t be meeting her today. 

Well, he also hadn’t said he  _ would,  _ either. But he never did-- neither did Tsukishima, actually. They both just showed up everyday at lunch, and at the end of classes to walk to the club rooms together. It had become a ritual Hitoka could count on in the past couple of weeks, and now, her first day without both of her new friends, she felt a little adrift. 

But just as she was beginning to really feel nervous, Yamaguchi burst through the door and hustled to his usual seat, gaze firmly set on the ground. 

He determinedly didn’t look at her as he got out his lunch, but she could see how bright red his entire face was. 

“Yamaguchi-kun, are you alright?” she asked, only kind of teasing him. 

Sighing, he raised his face, though he still couldn’t meet her eyes. “Yes, Yachi-san. Completely fine. I’m so sorry I was late -- I hope you didn’t worry.”

“Oh no! I wasn’t worried at all!” she lied, “But did something happen?”

He frowned, still determinedly looking away. “It’s a little embarrassing, honestly.”

“Please don’t feel embarrassed with me, Yamaguchi-kun,” Hitoka urged, “I would be happy to try and help you.”

“I -- this girl from Class 2 confessed to me,” he blurted, “And I got all flustered, and I didn’t know what to say -- no one has ever confessed to me before! I didn’t know what to do! So I… uh, I thanked her? And then excused myself and came here.” He buried his face in his hands and groaned, “I’m so glad Tsukki isn’t here today.”

Hitoka couldn’t help herself and she giggled quietly. She quieted quickly, though, and tried to think of some good advice to offer her friend on a subject she had no experience in. “Well, Yamaguchi-kun, do you like her?”

Frowning, Yamaguchi shook his head, “I don’t know her! Plus -- dating at all seems like so much work. I saw Valentine’s Day last year! I have enough work with classes and volleyball.” He finally met Hitoka’s eyes, a plea evident, “But how am I supposed to  _ tell her? _ I completely embarrassed myself! And I don’t want to hurt her feelings.” Sighing, he sank his head down onto the desk. 

Hitoka patted the top of his head, trying to comfort the distressed boy. “Well I think you just have to tell her that, kindly. The only way to not hurt her feelings is to politely decline.”

Yamaguchi sighed, mumbling into the desk, “I know, but it’s just so hard to talk to new people. Especially about something so… so…” He gesticulated with his hands to encompass whatever this situation was. 

“I know,” Hitoka sympathized.  _ Probably too much so,  _ she thought to herself.

“I can practically hear Tsukki telling me how stupid I’m being, worrying so much.” Yamaguchi sighed once more, before straightening up and seeming to settle himself. “I’ve been so rude, too, Yachi-san. I was late, without warning, and now we’ve only talked about my day.”

Eyeing him suspiciously, because Hitoka had now spent enough time talking to Yamaguchi that she could see when he was diverting attention from himself, but since the matter seemed settled she let it go. “I aced my English quiz!” She admitted happily. 

“Good job!” Yamaguchi grinned earnestly, “I told you you would.” 

Hitoka grinned back at him, “Yes, you did.”

“See,” he observed, “You really shouldn’t doubt yourself so much, Yachi-san. You’re too smart for that!”

Finally starting to eat her lunch now that the anxiety had eased, Hitoka bowed her head a bit before offering an earnest thanks to Yamaguchi. 

He also began eating, mentioning between bites the book they were studying in Classic Literature and how absolutely boring it was. 

To herself, Hitoka couldn’t help but think about how meals were always more satisfying with good company. 

\---

Hitoka was caught in her own thoughts as she wandered back from the vending machine, juice in hand. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi would probably already be back at her classroom, and she was eager to tell them about a comment one of her classmates had made that morning -- it was brainless enough that even Tsukishima might give her a laugh. 

She was startled back to reality when she bumped into someone much larger than herself -- though, to be fair, that was most people. 

Backing up and already stuttering out apologies, Hitoka glanced up to see the same boy that had tried to speak to her a few weeks earlier. On the first day that Tsukishima and Yamaguchi had come to join her for lunch, actually, she realized. 

Instead of seeming upset that he had been bumped into, the tall boy smiled bigger when he realized who had bumped into him. “Yachhan!” He greeted, “I was just looking for you!”

Startled, Hitoka stopped stumbling over an apology and stared at him, frozen. She had no idea what his name was, and he seemed so familiar with her --  _ had  _ they met before? Once again she could feel that buzzing pressure start to build in her chest and throat, making it hard to hear what he was saying now. 

She glanced around the broad chest of the boy in front of her, where her classroom was just barely out of her reach. 

And now he had stopped talking, and he seemed to expect a response, and she had  _ no idea what he had asked.  _ Why was she so bad at this?

Opening her mouth, no sound escaped for a long, awkward moment. Just as she thinks she’s going to have to just make a run for it, no matter how weird it makes her look, two towering figures appear over the strange boy’s shoulders. 

Hitoka couldn’t help the relieved sigh that escaped her.

The boy whipped around when Tsukishima tapped him on the shoulder. She couldn’t hear the muttered words that were exchanged, but a moment later he turned around, offered Hitoka a profuse apology and deep bow, and then practically sprinted down the hallway back to his classroom. 

Once again confused beyond measure --  _ why were boys so weird and TALL --  _ Hitoka offered her friends a sincere smile. “Thank you both! I feel so bad, but I didn’t hear what he asked, and then he needed an answer, but it was so embarrassing -- well, anyways, thank you both!” 

Tsukishima grunted, seeming to consider her words. “You didn’t hear what he asked you?”

Yamaguchi snorted, and then abruptly covered his mouth to stifle any more noise. 

Frowning now, Hitoka nodded. She thought she couldn’t be more embarrassed about the situation but now they would definitely tease her. Who was  _ that  _ bad at talking to strangers?

The boys seemed to have some sort of silent communication, before Tsukishima sighed and Yamaguchi turned to her with a deeply affectionate expression. “He, uh -- he was asking you out, Yachi-san.”

“Out?” She offered, still confused and a little preoccupied with her own embarrassment. Then, a moment later, it registered. She felt the blood drain from her face, “Like… a date?”

Stifling another laugh, Yamaguchi nodded. 

“Oh,” she said, faintly. “Oh.” She looked between her friends, and then down the hall where the boy had disappeared. “Oh no.” She sighed. Then she frowned, and looked up at both of her friends. “But, I don’t know him at all,” she offered, still baffled. Then, a bit shamefully, “I don’t even know his name.”

Yamaguchi seemed to be unable to contain himself anymore, and he burst into laughter. Tsukishima rolled his eyes, but a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. He tugged at Yamaguchi’s jacket collar, and gently nudged Hitoka towards the classroom. 

“Can we please actually have our lunch, now?” He grumbled. 

Hitoka finally looked up, still frowning. “Oh no. Do I have to go turn him down now?”

Yamaguchi, who had only just recovered himself from his first bout of laughter, doubled over again at this. Even Tsukishima broke a bit, a few huffs of laughter spilling out despite his attempt at answering her question. 

“No Yachi-san,” Tsukishma finally offered, “I feel like he got the message.”


	2. Kageyama Has a Difficult Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama comes up on a difficult anniversary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is about grief and mourning, so if that might be difficult for you please feel free to skip it. There will be more lightheartedness in the future, I promise.

Kageyama Tobio woke up this morning with the awareness that it was going to be a miserable day in his bones. The very air was off from the moment he opened his eyes -- frustratingly long before his alarm. 

But now his skin was prickling like there was electricity in the air, and the longer he laid still and failed to fall back asleep, the more he could feel tension building in all of his muscles. 

Giving in to the knowledge that he had to start is no-doubt miserable day miserably early, he flipped over to shove his face into his pillow and curse, before shoving himself out of bed and into some sweatpants and a t-shirt. 

He crept downstairs, careful not to wake his parents who were, for once not awake and out of the house before him. Silently, he slipped into his running shoes and out of the front door, locking it behind him and tucking his key safely away in his pocket.

Blinking at the hazy periwinkle of the early dawn sky, Tobio tried to will the discomfort he had woken with away. But he already knew it would take more than just will to even settle this feeling today -- so he set off into the early morning at a steady pace, focusing on his form, and on the burn of his muscles. 

\---

Tanaka jumped and swung with all the power of a (hopefully) nationals-bound ace and the ball --

Smacked anticlimactically beside the watching first years without making contact with his hand at all. 

Whipping around, he made eye contact with Tobio, who had not moved a muscle since he realized that he had missed a toss to Tanaka completely. During a drill, not even a practice match. 

He could feel himself coloring, and it felt like the entire gym had paused to stare, and he _really_ didn’t need to deal with this today. How had he _missed a toss_ , especially one so easy. 

“Sorry, Tanaka-san,” he grunted, his attempted sincerity coming out sounding more snappish than he intended. Like always. 

Tanaka laughed good naturedly, even so, and startled Tobio back into movement by attempting to ruffle his hair. 

He scowled with displeasure at the older boy, who winked at him. “No getting distracted during practice! Now you owe me another one!” Tanaka declared, before grabbing a ball and hustling back over to his starting position. 

When Tobio didn’t immediately reset, Tanaka rolled his eyes. “C’mon! Give your favorite senpai a toss!”

He stepped back into place, and this time when the ball left his fingertips it was followed by the satisfying smack of a palm and the ball hitting the court and ricocheting off towards the end of the gym. 

Hollering, Tanaka cajoled Tobio into a double high-five against his will and dodged out of the way so Tobio could toss to someone else. 

After the missed toss, he felt even more off kilter. He hadn’t missed a toss that badly in ages -- and even if Tanaka hadn’t been concerned, Tobio couldn’t help but feel like the air was even more suffocating now. _I just need to not miss anymore,_ he decided. 

The ball left his fingertips and he instantly knew it was too fast -- it was a Hinata-freak-quick toss, and the spiker running up and completely missing it was not Hinata.

Furious at himself, Tobio refused to make eye contact with their new first year spiker. “Reset, I’ll toss again.” Once again, he found his voice coming out gruffer and angrier than he intended. He didn’t look at Sato, too afraid that the kid would be scared, or upset, or -- the worst -- _angry_ with him. 

He knew he fucked up, he didn’t need to see it on everyone else’s faces. 

\--- _king, king, king --_

Flexing his hands and adjusting his stance, Tobio waited for the ball. This time, when it left his fingers it was a good toss. High, weightless, easy to hit. 

Even then, he waited and waited for the sound of a palm hitting the ball, but again he was startled by the ball hitting the court without making contact with the spiker’s hand. 

Sato was standing at the net, pale. “I’m so sorry senpai!” He looked terrified. He dropped into a hasty bow, offering profuse apologies and explaining that he had stumbled, had launched into his jump too late and missed the swing, _please forgive him._

Tobio found himself getting even more worked up -- he did his best, he wasn’t _trying_ to scare these new kids, it was just his _face_ and that wasn’t something he could _help ---_

He opened his mouth, determined to set things right (how could they expect to face up against the Iron Wall of Datekou when they couldn’t even look at their own senpai?), when he felt a small, calloused hand tugging aggressively at his t-shirt. 

“Kageyama, come toss for me!” Hinata practically yelled in his ear. Ducking in front of him to start shoving at his chest when he didn’t immediately move, Hinata tossed a bright grin to Sato, “I’m stealing our setter! We need to practice our quick before class!”

Sato’s face settled into deep relief, and Tobio felt something that felt suspiciously like _tears_ gather at the corner of his eyes. Why was he so, so bad at this? His scowl deepened as he forced back the emotion -- he was really much too sensitive today, as if it wasn’t already bad enough. 

Hinata practically dragged him to the other side of the court, and Tobio found himself adjusting to the rhythm of playing with his best friend easily, thoughtlessly. 

\---

_One day, when Tobio was maybe eight or nine years old, his grandfather had put on some old music that was from some far away place -- Spanish, he said, when Tobio asked about the strange sounds the singer was making -- and had hauled his grandson into the living room to dance to the rhythm._

_Tobio had never been much of a dancer, even young, but he did his best to keep up with the rhythm of his grandfather’s chaotic steps. Even in his clumsy attempts Tobio had an enormous amount of fun, and laughter had burst from him in choking fits as they lost their breath trying to keep up with the quick beats._

_That whole night, as they slurped on Udon and talked about volleyball, and his grandfather told him stories about his favorite professional plays, Tobio couldn’t stop smiling; content beyond measure to have had so much fun with his favorite person._

\---

It was lunch time. 

It was lunch time, and Tobio had forgotten to bring anything. 

It was lunch time, and Tobio didn’t remember a thing about what he had learned that day. And while that wasn’t uncommon, today when he looked down at his notebook there was nothing but idle scribbling a few incoherent words. 

Sighing heavily, Tobio tried to muster the desire to fix his situation. Between his run this morning, which had gone over and cut into his time to eat breakfast, and then morning practice his stomach was achingly empty. 

Finally he decided that he needed to at least get something small from the vending machines, even though he didn’t much feel like eating today. 

He hefted himself out of his seat and trudged down the hallway to the only vending machine on campus that stocked his favorite brand of milk, the route burned into his brain like muscle memory by now. 

When he arrived in front of the machine, though, his favorite brand wasn’t there. Or any other milk, in fact. 

Of course. 

“Do you need some help, Kageyama-kun?” A hesitant voice interrupted.

He must have been staring at the machine for longer than he realized, because Yachi was staring at him like he was behaving bizarrely. _More bizarre than normal_ he amended. 

She smiled at him gently, like he was an easily startled animal.

After a moment of awkward silence, he remembered she had asked him a question. “Ah, no,” he muttered, stepping out of her way so she could access the machine. 

Yachi nodded gratefully and stepped forward to make her selection. “Are you ok, Kageyama-kun?” 

He frowned. Had he been behaving that strangely? He didn’t feel like he had been much different today. “I’m fine, Yachi-san.” He assured her, still puzzling it over. 

Once again, she startled him with her quiet presence. This time, with a hand on his arm. He could feel the heat through his uniform jacket. 

“Would you sit with me for a minute?” she asked, and Tobio was surprised enough to agree. 

They sat down on a nearby bench. Once they were settled, Yachi pressed a cold box into his hands. He looked down and saw a box of strawberry milk. 

“I know it’s not your preference,” she offered apologetically, “But they were out of regular milk.”

“Yes,” he agreed, to both parts. Then, realizing he was being rude, he grunted out a quiet thanks. He popped the straw into the top and took a sip. The flavor was much sweeter than his usual plain milk, but he found he didn’t mind it too much.

Yachi was watching him a bit nervously as he sipped, and he offered another quiet thanks, assuring her it was good.

She smiled at him, sipping at her own matching box. “Sometimes something a little sweet is nice.”

Tobio finished his milk silently, and Yachi did the same beside him. He found he didn’t mind the small presence beside him.

After they finished, the silence stretched and Tobio found himself once again feeling that tension in the air that had been chasing him all day. 

“Are you really okay?” Yachi asked.

Tobio frowned to himself, realizing he must have been acting strange today. He was working on being aware of his own behavior but sometimes -- especially days like today, with the cloying discomfort dogging his every movement -- he lost track. 

He wondered if he had been awful at practice today. _King._

Shaking his head, he forced his mouth to open and answer Yachi. “I’m fine, Yachi-san.”

She frowned a little, like she didn’t really believe his answer, but her expression smoothed again and she reached over to grab his hand and squeeze gently. “Ok, but if you need to -- to talk to anyone, I would be happy.” She met his eyes, and felt exposed by the sincerity there. “Really, Kageyama-kun.”

He nodded a bit dumbly, feeling overwhelmed a bit. “Thank you, Yachi-san.” 

She grinned at him, nodding enthusiastically. Then she glanced at her phone and startled. “Oh! Lunch is over soon! Would you like to walk back together?”

Tobio agreed, standing and throwing out both of their empty milk boxes. As he walked with her, Yachi rambled about her next class and most of the concepts went a bit over his head, but for a moment the damp misery of the day had been held at bay. 

When they stopped at her classroom door, Tobio paused Yachi before she could duck inside. “Th-thank you, Yachi-san.” The tremulous sincerity in his voice shocked even him, and he felt his cheeks flushing slightly. 

A small hand found his and gave it another firm, comforting squeeze. She grinned at him, and then with equal sincerity offered, “Any time, Kageyama-kun.”

He nodded firmly, once, and then fled down the hallway to his own classroom. 

\---

_The first time Tobio had played in a real volleyball match, his heart and pounded out of control the entire time with excitement. And he was only in for half the game, and it was a silly rec league with low stakes, but they won._

_And when the match ended he had practically leapt into his grandfather’s arms, vibrating with excitement._

_He had recounted the entire match, play by play -- especially the ones he had been a part of -- the whole walk home, his hand tangled with his grandfather’s._

_Despite having been there to watch the whole game, Kazuyo gasped and reacted as if he was hearing it all for the first time. As if it was one of his favorite professional games -- the ones he insisted on recounting at the dinner table even though he and Tobio and Miwa had watched the recordings dozens of times._

_Tobio’s hand had been tiny in his grandfather’s, and the calloused grip was secure and warm, promising to guide him safely home._

\---

When afternoon practice had rolled around, Tobio found himself dreading it for once. His whole body felt tired and sore from the stress of just trudging through today and pretending to pay attention in class. 

The small moment of reprieve from the unexpected encounter with Yachi at lunch had faded by now, and he wanted nothing more than to go home and be away from everyone and everything.

But he would never skip practice, so he mechanically changed into his gym clothes and went to the gym to start warming up. 

He felt frozen when he entered the gym. The lights were buzzing louder than usual, and the scattered groups of people warming up were chattering without any limit, and even without Hinata it was _so loud._

Moving mechanically, Tobio tucked himself as far as he could from his teammates and began to stretch. 

The doors burst open and Hinata and Yachi spilled in, chatting animatedly about something. As soon as he saw Tobio, though, the redhead darted over to join him.

“Ah! Kageyama you’re supposed to stretch with a _partner,_ idiot!” He adjusted so they could assist each other with stretching, continuing on, “And you’re always telling _me_ that I’m going to injure myself!”

Tobio grunted, not giving Hinata an answer but obligingly shifting to partner stretches. 

Once they were warmed up, Hinata tugged him to his feet. Before he could begin to demand tosses, though, Nishinoya interjected. 

“Kageyama! Come help me!” 

Confused, Kageyama looked over to where Nishinoya was standing with his hand firmly gripping the shoulder of his new mentee, their first year libero, Harada Tora. 

“Harada-kun needs more serve-receive practice!” he informed them, winking. 

Tobio felt relief -- serves he could do. Consistent, solo. “Of course, Nishinoya-san.”

It took him a few botched serves to get warmed up, which Harada still valiantly dug to varying success and a bevy of instruction and encouragement from Nishinoya. 

Once he was warmed up, though, he felt his world narrow to the precise movements he had burned into his body through hours and years of practice. He still wasn’t satisfied with his jump serve -- it was powerful, but he had seen more power in other great players.

Settling for a “good enough” serve was not even a consideration. 

His vision narrowed, aiming precisely to challenge Harada, to win. His muscles strained and burned, and he felt good. 

Across the court, Harada was panting and sweating. But the set of his jaw was determined, and he took the corrections that Nishinoya offered him with a firm “Yes, Nishinoya-senpai!” that made the other libero grin and strut more and more each time. 

Before he knew it, practice was ending. Nishinoya darted across the court, shoving Harada in the direction of the benches. He grabbed Tobio’s arms and squeezed enthusiastically, giving him a bright grin. 

“Your serve is so cool, Kageyama,” he gushed, “It’s definitely getting more powerful.” 

Tobio nodded gratefully. “Not powerful enough,” he offered, seriously.

Nishinoya cackled, “Never is, with you! Ah -- you’re the best, Kageyama. Thanks for the help today!” Before Tobio could reply to that, he dashed away to jump onto Tanaka’s back and burp in his ear. 

Deliberately, Tobio stretched out his muscles and finished the water in his bottle, before edging past his boisterous teammates (they always were especially so after a free practice like today) and towards the club room. 

He changed into his sweatpants and tugged on his jacket quickly, and was ducking out of the club room as the rest of the team was entering. 

Just as he reached the gates, a breathless Hinata sprinted past him and stumbled to a stop at the bike rack, gasping between breaths, “Rude, Bakayama! You were going to walk without me!”

Tobio waited patiently as Hinata unlocked his bike and joined him, breath finally regained. 

“Wow! We barely saw each other today!” Hinata exclaimed, “I didn’t get to tell you about what happened when I was baking with Natsu last night!” 

Hinata launched into the tale of him and his even tinier and more energetic sister causing chaos in their kitchen, his description, frankly, too wild to be believable. But Tobio still enjoyed listening -- not that he would tell Hinata -- and they reached their usual parting in no time. 

Instead of jumping onto his bike and hollering an aggressive goodbye to Tobio like he typically did, Hinata paused and his face went serious and focused.

His gaze felt a bit too discerning, and Tobio felt himself squirming slightly. “What?” he demanded. 

Hinata wrinkled his nose, sighing, “Just…” He chewed his lip thoughtfully, before continuing. “Are you feeling alright?”

Tobio stared at him. Two people had asked that today. He really wasn’t sure why this was happening suddenly -- before today, he could rarely think of that question being asked of him. 

“I’m fine,” he grunted, the same answer he had given Yachi before. Because it was true.

Hinata sighed again, and nudged him with a half-assed punch to the arm. “Don’t get sick,” he ordered, “then who will toss to me, huh?”

“I’m not sick, dumbass,” Tobio scowled, “I’m not -- I wouldn’t get sick!”

“Oh, what?” Hinata huffed, “Your setter skills give you a magic imm--” he frowned, thinking, “Uh, makes you not able to get sick! That’s so stupid. You’re so stupid.”

“Immune system!” Tobio snapped, triumphant that he remembered that. “ _You’re_ so stupid!”

Hinata looked upward and groaned dramatically. “Oh my god! You suck! I was trying to be a good friend!”

“By telling me I look sick?” Tobio questioned, disbelieving. 

Rolling his eyes, Hinata crossed his arms. “No,” he corrected, “By asking if you are ok! So, are you?”

Tobio shook his head, “Why does everyone keep asking that?”

Hinata buried his face in his hands and muttered something under his breath. Then he collected himself and met Tobio’s eyes. “Because maybe we’re your friends? And you seemed upset today?”

Tobio, who had been about to bite out some sarcastic remark, was stopped instantly. “Uh,” he frowned, crossing his arms and trying not to hunch over, curl into himself in embarrassment. “Oh. Well, um. Th-- thank you. For, um, asking.”

Hinata’s exasperation shifted to be something closer to fondness, and he shifted to grip his handlebars, still not mounting the bike to head home. “You didn’t really answer, though. So, are you okay?”

Feeling undone by the whole conversation, the whole day, Tobio looked away so Hinata couldn’t see the silly sting of tears that gathered at the corner of his eyes. “I’m ---” he stopped himself, frowning as he stared back towards school. “I’ll be fine. Thank you for asking.”

Finally satisfied, Hinata nodded and smiled at him. “Alright. But if -- if you need anything, text me.”

Tobio grunted agreement, still not meeting Hinata’s eyes. Any words he might have said felt trapped in his throat, sticky. But it didn’t really matter, since the spiker at long last hopped onto his back and called a goodbye as he pedalled away. 

When he arrived home, Tobio avoided the living room, retreating first up to his room, where he cleaned up and changed into clean, comfortable clothing. An old, well-worn Shiratorizawa t-shirt and his softest sweatpants. 

He padded silently down to the living room, even though his parents were definitely still at work. At the entrance to the living room he paused and took a deep breath, before stepping across the room to the small altar with a framed photo of his grandfather. 

Tobio sank to the floor in front of it, bowing his head gently. 

It had been two years, but he still ached with how much he missed Kazuyo. 

The whole day had been so heavy, so cloying with the knowledge that it meant he had spent two whole years in a world without his closest confidant. Who had felt for a very long time was the only one who really understood him.

He opened his mouth, unsure of what to say. 

For a moment, the thought of saying anything -- of putting his sorrow out into the world -- felt untenable. Like it would shatter him. 

But he thought of Hinata’s clumsy care, and the sweet taste of strawberry milk, and the bright enthusiasm of Nishinoya, and the feeling eased a bit, 

“Ojisan,” he started, the word emerging like a prayer. “I --” he wrinkled his nose, trying to keep tears at bay. 

“Today I practiced my serve,” he started, eventually, “Because I was helping my senpai -- Nishinoya. He’s training our new libero. And after he told me --”

Once the words started, they fell forth easily, and he told his grandfather all about his day. And when he reached the end he went quiet for a moment, breathing in the silence of his house. 

“I miss you,” he confessed, barely a whisper. And then, again, “I miss you, Ojisan.” 

And he was answered only by quiet, so he sat and eventually his tears -- which he didn’t realize had started -- stopped. And he breathed, and let the heavy air hang with dense silence.

Silence that was broken by the buzz of his phone. 

Startled, Tobio wiped at his face, as if whoever was texting him would see the tears wetting his cheeks. He looked down, and Hinata’s name greeted him in the team group chat. 

He opened the text to see a link to a play from one of the V-League games that had happened last night. Glancing up at the photo of Kazuyo, Tobio smiled slightly and opened the link. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, so yesterday I got the news that an older relative who was very much like a grandfather to me passed away. He had been sick for a long time, and our relationship was infinitely complicated, but it's been a bit hard to process. 
> 
> So forgive me if there is anyone OOC, or mistakes, or whatever. I guess this was a sort of venting about grief. 
> 
> But also, I hope that you love the Karasuno family as much as I do, and the way they take care of their own even if they don't know what's wrong. What a change from middle school for Kags, huh?


	3. Akiteru Adopts Some Crows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akiteru has a problem, and that problem is that he keeps collecting new little brothers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, hi! More cheerful than last chapter, but still just full of my own agenda. 
> 
> That agenda is as follows:
> 
> -Akiteru has a chronic illness and works from home and you can pull that hc from my cold dead hands (I am a spoonie and want rep so I'm making it! I was also a high school athlete in a highly ranked team who had to give up a varsity first line spot because of chronic pain in high school, so YES I'M PROJECTING, and yes I could probably write a whole story about Akiteru bc I love him)
> 
> -I am passionate about the Big Sibling agenda, and I will be pushing that here. 
> 
> \- Also Tsukki and Kags are gonna be best friends even if I have to schedule play dates and put them in a get-along shirt
> 
> -I'm sorry Tsukki's mom I just didn't have the energy to add you to this story so I'm sure you're a very sweet caring lady who works very hard at your job and that's why you're away. 
> 
> -ah, other things but I used my brain power writing this so
> 
> Um, also, I am not Japanese nor do I speak Japanese and so I may have messed up addresses and different cultural and language things and I'm sorry please lmk if you see it and I will fix it!

“I would like to point out that I have never made any of the first years cry,” Kei mentioned to a fuming Kageyama, who had just made their talented but skittish new spiker, Sato Sora, burst into nervous tears for the second time this year. 

“Well, that might be because you never try to talk to them…” Yamaguchi muttered under his breath.

Kei shot him a betrayed glare. “Shut up, Tadashi.”

“Sorry, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi lied. 

Kageyama glared at him, “I was helping!”

Yamaguchi burst into laughter, much to Kageyama’s increasing displeasure. 

Kei rolled his eyes, “You told him that if he ‘didn’t put more effort into his jumps he could be the reason Karasuno didn’t make nationals’.”

“I didn’t say that!” Kageyama huffed, then, abashedly, “Well not _exactly_ that.”

As Kei was opening his mouth with a biting retort, a violently orange spiker leapt onto Kageyama’s back and started off one of their pointless arguments as he hauled the setter away to practice. 

When Kei glanced at Yamaguchi out of the corner of his eye he was flashing a small thumbs up to Hinata. Kei rolled his eyes at his friend’s ‘managing’, but let it go. He didn’t want to spend any more time talking to Kageyama then he had to. 

And today that was going to be way too much time, given that he had agreed to tutor the two most academically-challenged players on their team after practice. 

Morning classes were dull, and Kei found himself watching the clock until lunch, ear for a break from the monotony of the day. 

As he and Yamaguchi joined Yachi in her classroom as usual, he was unsettled to see Yachi in tears. 

Yamaguchi darted forward to comfort her, petting her arm and holding her hand. Kei joined them, trying to decipher through her hiccuped words what was upsetting their manager.

Finally, after a few minutes of Yamaguchi’s gentle comfort, Yachi collected herself enough to talk. 

“I’m so so sorry -- I don’t want to let you all down,” Yachi cried.

Kei frowned and scoffed. “Impossible.”

“What’s wrong, Yachi-san? You know we won’t be upset with you,” Yamaguchi implored. 

“Well,” Yachi refused to meet their eyes, “I’m just so behind on my science project, and it’s due on Friday, but I promised to help Kageyama-kun and Hinata-kun with you, Tsukishima-kun! But now there is so little time…” Yachi buried her head in her hands and wailed miserably.

Yamaguchi hushed her and, before Kei could say anything, offered, “I’ll help Tsukki, we can take care of those idiots for this one exam.”

Sniffling, Yachi peered warily at Yamaguchi, “Are-- are you sure? We were supposed to study at my house…”

Again, before Kei could have any say, Yamaguchi jumped in, “Tsukki can host -- I’m sure Akiteru-oni-san won’t mind.” Out of Yachi’s view, he shot Kei a look that he knew meant he had already lost this argument.

Sometimes having a best friend really was terrible.

Kei pulled out his phone and shot Akiteru a text. He knew what the answer would be, but he briefly held out hope that his brother would have some plan that prevented this relocation of their study sessions. 

Unfortunately, Ennoshita was a bit stricter about the use of the volleyball spaces after hours than Daichi had been as captain. That was probably due to Ukai setting limits on how many extra hours of practice could be done (mostly because of _two certain idiots_ ). 

That made him realize that he really should have demanded Kageyama or Hinata host instead of himself, but he had complied with Yamaguchi’s demand already and he couldn’t un-text Akiteru. 

He sighed deeply, already dreading having them at his house.

Akiteru’s response was exactly what he had expected. 

**Akiteru:** of course! how many people? ur friends r always welcome

**Me:** Teammates

**Me:** 2 of them plus Yamaguchi

**Akiteru:** ok :) make sure to pay attention in class now so u can be a good tutor

Rolling his eyes, Kei nodded at Yamaguchi, who beamed at him. 

After they reassured Yachi that no one was disappointed with her or upset, she calmed and they had a pleasant end to their lunch -- enough so that Kei nearly forgot how miserable his evening was going to be. 

  
  


\---

“Tsukishima’s _HOUSE?”_ Hinata screeched, the glee in his tone obvious. 

Kei glared at Yamaguchi, the dread he had been feeling since this decision was made growing. 

“I’m surprised it’s a house and not some dark cave,” snarked Kageyama. He met Kei’s fierce glare with his own. 

“I can only hope my humble abode is up to your royal standards, King,” Kei remarked, his tone intentionally light to rile Kageyama further. He was such an easy target, he could barely help wanting to mock him even when he was in a good mood. 

Kageyama growled, but instead of responding just crossed his arms and pointedly stomped to walk far from the tall middle blocker. 

Rolling his eyes, Kei guided their frustratingly loud group to his front door and led the way inside. They all kicked off their shoes behind him and called out a chorus of “Ojama shimasu” as they trailed behind him to the cozy living room. 

As they began to settle their bags for ideal studying, Akiteru appeared in the doorway with a soft, indulgent grin that irritated Kei on sight. 

“Akiteru,” he greeted, “These are my teammates.”

Hinata and Kageyama gathered themselves into composure long enough to chorus out their names and polite thanks to Akiteru for having them, whose smile grew throughout. 

“I’ve heard about you both!” Akiteru offered as soon as they finished, the awful brother that he was. Despite Kei’s attempts to glare a hole through his skull or make him faint through sheer force of will, he ploughed on, “And I saw you play against Shiratorizawa and at -- well, some of Nationals! You’re both excellent players. That quick is unreal!”

By the end of this, Kageyama was shuffling awkwardly, face red and jaw clenched, refusing to meet anyone’s eyes, and Hinata was positively _glowing._ His grin took up an impossible amount of his face, and he had been slowly inching closer and closer to Akiteru. 

“Tsukishima-san, do you play?” Hinata gushed, looking like a little kid with how wide and excited his whole expression was. 

Akiteru blushed a bit and nodded his head shyly, “Ah, I’m playing now as a wing spiker for the Kaji Wild Dogs -- it’s a local team.” 

He was startled as Hinata squealed, “Oh, wow, you must be really strong! I’m a wing spiker, too!”

Ever since Hinata had been moved to wing spiker instead of middle blocker he had taken every single opportunity to mention it. Kei rolled his eyes, and began to get out his notes and supplies so that they could _eventually_ start actually studying. 

Akiteru patiently and cheerfully answered all of Hinata’s bevy of questions as the other boys all sat down.

“Hinata,” Kei interrupted, impatient, “You’re going to fail the exam if we don’t study.”

“And then Coach won’t let you play in the practice match next week,” Kageyama reminded him, unnecessarily given how much both boys had been angsting about this ultimatum all week.

Hinata paled, and offered Akiteru a mixture of profuse apologies and thanks as he skittered to his own seat. 

Still smiling in that irritatingly fond way, Akiteru excused himself from the room, “I’ll leave you to study -- let me know if you need anything.”

Kei could hear him walking to the kitchen and shuffling around, so after he had gotten the two volleyballs-for-brains working on a study sheet and went to find out what his brother was up to. Yamaguchi could keep them on track better than most, even if he wasn’t confident enough in his own knowledge to actually tutor the other boys. 

In the kitchen, Akiteru was digging around in one of the high cupboards where they kept serving dishes and other items they rarely had cause to use in their small 3-person household. 

“What are you doing?” 

Akiteru jumped, nearly tripping as he whipped around to see his brother. “Kei! You scared me!”

Kei rolled his eyes. “What are you doing?” he repeated. 

The older Tsukishima grinned, “Getting snacks for you and your friends!” At Kei’s glare, he amended, “Teammates, study-buddies, y’know. The Boys!”

Kei pondered how embarrassing it was to have an older sibling, sometimes. _Why was he being like this?_ He pondered, once again baffled by his brother’s motivations. And his compulsive need to embarrass Kei whenever possible. 

“You don’t need to do that,” he said, instead of questioning his current emotional stability. 

Sighing, Akiteru tapped Kei on the top of his head (which, rude), and turned back to grabbing a large bowl to dump the chips he must have gone to the store to get after Kei’s text this afternoon. 

Shoving the bowl into Kei’s arms, Akiteru shooed his little brother down the hallway. “Go be a good tutor! I’ll bring you some drinks. What would they like?”

Kei rolled his eyes, “They can drink whatever we have.” And he stomped out of the room and back around the corner to the living room, where Hinata had laid his head down on top of his worksheet and was moaning miserably about how humans weren’t meant to understand math. 

They looked up and greeted the sight of snacks with glee. 

Only moments behind him, Akiteru arrived with a handful of beverages -- a smattering of juice and milk that they had in the fridge and a couple of sodas he must have also grabbed at the store. He hovered, accepting their thanks with a bright smile and clearly observing what the two boys he didn’t know much about grabbed. 

Kei met his eyes and glared at him. _They won’t be back. Stop remembering things about them. They are not my friends._ He tried to telepathically communicate to his soft-hearted brother. 

It didn’t seem to work as Akiteru merely winked cheerfully at Kei and retreated from the room. 

Nor in the way he insisted they all stay for dinner, and assured them over and over that they were always welcome to study at the Tsukishima home. Kei wished that older siblings didn’t have some sort of shield that made his most furious glare ineffective. 

As the three other boys headed out to their own homes at the end of the evening, Akiteru and Kei cleaned up the kitchen in tandem. 

After a moment of silence, Akiteru finally said something. “It’s nice to see you with so many people, Kei. It seems like Karasuno is a really good fit. I’m so glad.”

Kei didn’t reply right away, chewing over these words. “Those two idiots aren’t my friends just because I agreed to help them study. We need them to win.”

Akiteru laughed, but didn’t contradict him. 

After another moment, though, Kei offered, “But Karasuno is… fine.”

He groaned when Akiteru pulled him into a side hug, sudsy hands and all. 

  
  


\---

  
  


The next day at practice, Hinata couldn’t stop talking about Akiteru. 

“Who would have thought that Stingyshima would have such a cool, nice older brother, huh?” he exclaimed, “I bet he just took all the good traits.” 

Kei scowled, rolling his eyes. This was what he got for letting Yamaguchi bully him. 

The small grace was that Hinata had not uncovered that his brother had been the Little Giant’s senpai. 

“Eh Hinata,” Yamaguchi exclaimed, “Akiteru-oni-san is really cool. You know he was at Karasuno the same time as your hero?”

Kei was going to kill Yamaguchi. Tonight, if not sooner. 

Hinata froze, before exploding into enthusiastic shouts, “The Little Giant? Oh wow! He _knew_ him? Oh, wow, I wonder -- no, oh no -- Tsukishima we have to go to your house again! I need to ask your brother so much more now!”

Kei ignored him, walking away to try and avoid this conversation all together. He was aware that his older brother was admirable, since it was obvious that even a jock like Hinata could realize it. That only made him more certain he would not be bringing over someone to interrogate him about his high school years and the kouhai who took his spot. 

He knew Akiteru had no bad blood with the Little Giant, but Tsukishima was a bitter enough person to be mad for both of them on occasion. Especially when it gave him a moral reason to refuse Hinata entry to his house. 

“No,” he snapped at Hinata’s continued demands as they cleaned up, “Why would I want you in my house again?”

Hinata pouted, and Kei determinedly ignored him. 

  
  


\---

  
  


Three weeks later, Yachi was once again unable to host their now-weekly study group. She explained this to them all very regretfully, but her mother was having business partners over for dinner so she didn’t mind if Yachi was out, but she couldn’t have people over. 

Before anything else could be offered, Hinata turned to Kei with hopeful eyes. “We could always -- “

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Pleaaaaase?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Preeeetttty please?” 

“No!”

“Stingyshima! How would your brother feel after he told us we were welcome whenever, huh?”

Kei found himself once again furious at how friendly and welcoming Akiteru was. Sometimes they didn’t feel related. “Hinata, no. Someone else can host.”

Yachi looked distressed to have caused so much commotion. Yamaguchi stepped in, ignoring the quiet Kageyama who probably had the space to host and just didn’t want them all seeing his house. 

“C’mon, Tsukki, it’s just a couple hours. And Akiteru-oni-san did say…” 

Sighing miserably, Kei glared at Yamaguchi. “Traitor,” he hissed, before rolling his eyes and agreeing to have them over that week. Akiteru must have said something to their mother, because there were suddenly more snacks and, of all things, more _milk boxes_ showing up in their kitchen since he had last hosted the study group.

When he walked in the front door that night, it was quiet and still, like no one had moved in a long time. 

Kei dropped his bag in his room as he went a bit further down the hall to his brother’s. 

The door was open, but it was dark and quiet inside. When Kei peeked, just to check on his brother, he was surprised to meet half-open eyes. 

“Heard you come in,” Akiteru mumbled.

The older boy was curled up in his bed and piled under blankets. Their cat, Coconut (he was a round mass of soft cream fur, and the name had been an adamant decision of 14-year-old Akiteru) was curled up against his stomach, purring deeply. 

Kei walked in and started to grab any empty cups in the room. “Is there anything I can get you?”

“Water?” Akiteru requested, snuggling further into his blankets, “I’ll sleep a little longer and then come make you dinner.”

Rolling his eyes, Kei just departed back to the kitchen to grab the requested water, and stopped in the bathroom on his way back to grab his brother’s medication. Unscrewing the top, he dished out a single pill and set it and the water glass on Akiteru’s bedside table. 

As Kei turned to leave, Akiteru called a groggy thanks after him. 

Downstairs, he kept his movements as quiet as possible while putting on rice and sitting down to do his homework. 

When Akiteru dragged himself into the kitchen a few hours later and slumped into the chair next to Kei the younger gave him a critical glance but didn’t say anything. Instead, he stood up and served them both plates of rice and stir fry. 

Akiteru sighed gratefully, “Ah, you’re the best.” 

While they ate, Kei decided there was no better time to mention what had been decided that day. “My teammates asked to come here for tutoring again this week. Is that alright?”

Brightening, Akiteru nodded. “Of course it is!” 

“Uh, I should warn you that Hinata is a… very enthusiastic fan of the Little Giant. And he found out you went to school with him. So he will probably ask a lot of questions.” 

Akiteru burst into laughter. “I appreciate the warning. Hinata-kun is… enthusiastic. But he’s a very nice guy.”

Kei rolled his eyes, “That’s an understatement.”

He couldn’t help but notice that after that conversation his brother seemed to finish his dinner with a bit more gusto, so he couldn’t be too annoyed that he had been bullied into hosting his most annoying teammates once again. 

  
  


\---

  
  


The Thursday of the study group rolled around quickly and after practice the five first years changed and trudged together to the Tsukishima household, stopping by the konbini to grab snacks on their way. 

Within minutes of their arrival at the house, Akiteru popped his head into the living room to greet them and check if they needed anything. 

He was energetic today, meeting Hinata’s immediate enthusiasm with kindness, answering all of his questions as well as he could. 

Kageyama rolled his eyes at his volleyball partner. “He needs to focus more.”

“From you, King?” Kei offered, teasing. 

Gesturing at his open notebook aggressively, Kageyama scowled. “What do you call this?”

“But you’re talking about Hinata, not your studies,” Kei pointed out. 

“We just sat down!” Kageyama snarled.

“And yet you’re already distracted by Hinata? Embarrassing.”

Kageyama looked ready to launch himself at Kei, and absently he wondered if he really could push the younger boy that far.

Yachi interrupted, though, and drew Kageyama’s attention to all of the things he didn’t understand from the latest English section. 

After nearly an hour, Hinata returned and sat down with the rest of them. 

“Finally decided to join us!”

Hinata huffed, “I was talking with Akiteru-san. He really is so cool, Tsukki. How did you end up so lame?”

Kei glared at Hinata. “Glad you had a nice time, but aren’t you here so you don’t fail your classes?”

Pouting, Hinata pulled out his notebook. “Hey, if you let us come over more I wouldn’t have to spend so long all at once talking to Akiteru-san, you know! So it’s your fault, really, Stingyshima.”

With a dramatic eye roll, Kei snatched Hinata’s worksheet. “Let’s talk less about my brother and more about how impossible it’s going to be to teach you anything if you did this badly,” he snarked, marking up all of the redhead’s mistakes as the shorter boy grumbled about how mean he is. 

Really, Kei was too nice to these idiots.

  
  


\---

  
  


That Sunday Kei was on his way back from the store, hands full of all of the ingredients that Akiteru had forgotten to get for dinner, when he was nearly run over. 

Some terrible driver made a sudden left turn onto the street he was about to cross on, and Kei stopped himself just in time. Across the street from him, a runner had not been quite as lucky -- he had stopped, but the sudden halt had made him stumble and fall in the crosswalk. 

And, to his great displeasure, Kei recognized the voice that yelped. 

As the car sped away, none the wiser to the chaos they wrought, he walked to meet the scowling setter who hadn’t gotten up from where he had gracelessly fallen. 

“You hurt?” he grunted, eyeing the way Kageyama hesitantly moved his feet, one with more difficulty than the other. 

A sullen frown had settled deeply onto Kageyama’s face, and he struggled to push himself to his feet, only to nearly crumble the second he put weight on his left ankle. He caught himself, barely, and stood with a frustrated glare in the middle of the crosswalk. 

Sighing, Kei put both of his grocery bags in one hand, and shoved the other arm underneath Kageyama’s. It was better not to give him a chance to reject the help he so clearly needed. 

“Do you live close?” Kei demanded, ushering him to the sidewalk. 

“No,” Kageyama offered despondently.

“Fine, I do. You know that. Let’s go.”

The boys trudged down the street the block and a half left to the Tsukishima household, and by the way Kageyama held up Kei guessed he had just badly rolled his ankle instead of some worse injury. 

When they entered the house, Kei left Kageyama to sit on the edge of the genkan to take off his shoes as he deposited the groceries in the kitchen. 

Akiteru was sitting at the table, and he smiled at Kei as he entered. “Thank you, Kei!”

“Kageyama is here,” Kei replied, “His ankle is hurt, our house was closest.”

Instantly concerned, Akiteru sprang to his feet and hustled to grab their first aid kit. “Oh no! What happened? Is Kageyama-kun alright?” And then, before Kei could fully explain, Akiteru waved him off, “I’ll go check on him, you’re too grumpy to do this properly. Put away the groceries and then come help.”

Sighing, Kei agreed and let his brother dash off to check on Kageyama. He was always _so_ much more worried than the situation called for. 

It didn’t take long to put away the groceries, and Kei followed voices to the living room only to freeze in the entrance. 

Akiteru had put Kageyama sideways on the couch, with his bad leg propped up, and was gently shifting and prodding at his ankle. But what startled Kei was that Kageyama was _smiling_ at his brother. 

Like, actually, not some terrifying grin like what he did on the court. 

Maybe Kageyama had hit his head when he fell. That was the only likely explanation, especially given the fact that Kageyama kind of had a _baby face,_ which was usually hidden by his ugly scowling misery, but was a little bit adorable when he was smiling. 

Already so grossed out and frustrated, Kei begrudgingly entered the room to hand his brother an ice pack wrapped in a dish towel. 

Akiteru smiled at him and thanked him. And then (because today was just endlessly weird), Kageyama also spoke up. 

“Thank you, Tsukishima,” he grunted, like it hurt him to say. 

“Of course,” Kei drawled as he retreated, not wanting to be a part of this weird situation any longer, “Where would we peasants be without your _Grace._ ” Ignoring Kageyama’s frustrated growl and a little comforted by the return of his familiar scowl, Kei then promptly left the room to go be anywhere else. 

When Akiteru finished helping the injured setter, he came back to the kitchen and smiled teasingly at his brother. “Ah, I have such a kind little brother, huh?” he sighed, starting to prep dinner, “Kageyama-kun told me what happened. It was good of you to help him so quickly -- I’m glad you both are mostly alright.”

As usual, his brother’s earnest words made his skin crawl. “I may not like him but I’m not going to leave him injured in the middle of the street. I don’t think that makes me a saint.”

“Hm,” Akiteru sang in response, “Of course, I would never dare accuse you of being too good of a person.”

When the food was ready Akiteru sent Kei to help Kageyama limp to the kitchen, where he was helped to prop up his swollen ankle on a spare chair despite his embarrassment about doing so at someone else’s home. 

“I’m so sorry to intrude,” Kageyama muttered, “This food is very good. Thank you for -- uh -- inviting -- well, uh, allowing me to join, Tsukishima-san.”

Kei rolled his eyes, “Why are you acting like you’ve never been over? You’re so weird.”

Akiteru shot him a _look_ before smiling at Kageyama. “Ah please, I already told you to call me Akiteru. And it’s no problem at all! You are always welcome here! Though hopefully next time under better circumstances.” He nodded towards Kageyama’s phone, “Did your parents tell you when they would be able to drive you home? Not that you need to leave soon!”

Fidgeting uncomfortably ( _Ha, someone else is suffering under Akiteru’s sweetness,_ Kei couldn’t help but think) Kageyama shook his head, “I -- ah -- they’re both in Tokyo for work at the moment. But there’s a bus just around the corner, I’m feeling much better so…” He coughed, awkwardly. 

Eyes wide, Akiteru shook his head. “No, no. I can drive you. _Take the bus!_ I would feel terrible, no. Well, that’s decided. Now, tell me about why you like being a setter so much.”

Looking a little shell-shocked, Kageyama nodded faintly and coughed again, awkwardly, before launching into the advantages of being a setter over every other position. 

Kei sighed deeply, ignored by the other two, as he resigned himself to his soft-hearted brother forcing him to keep the two volleyball idiots around even in his own time. 

Older siblings really were the worst. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, merci ktir for reading, I hope it made sense and didn't have too many errors and maybe left you a little more happy than the last chapter. 
> 
> I feel like because Kags has an older sister, even tho she's far away, he would end up really liking Akiteru. So.

**Author's Note:**

> So thank you for making it to the end! I hope you liked this, I did indeed spend New Years Eve and New Years Day writing fanfic, thank you. 
> 
> If y'all vibed with the work, please let me know! It's genuinely so sweet and encouraging to even get kudos when I haven't written consistently since I was a teen.


End file.
